Софи Келли - Cat Trick

Alex swore. “Where the hell did that thing come from?” he said. The cat was enough of a distraction that I managed to wrench my arm free.

He raised his hand and a voice behind us said, “Don’t do that, Mr. Scott.”

Marcus.

Alex hesitated, and without warning, Maggie’s hand shot out and locked on to his arm at the elbow. She smiled, but there was no warmth in her expression. “It would be a good idea to listen to Detective Gordon,” she said. “I could break your arm if I have to. I don’t want to, but I can.” Hercules shook himself and straightened up, watching Maggie intently.

Marcus walked over to us. “You can let go,” he said to Mags.

She nodded and released Alex’s arm, wiping her hand on her jeans.

Marcus looked at me. “You all right?” he asked.

I nodded. “He killed Mike Glazer,” I said.

Marcus nodded. “I know.”

He knew? How did he know?

After that, things seemed to happen in a blur of activity. Alex Scott was taken away in a police car, more police officers arrived and we were herded out onto the walkway.

“Are you all right?” Maggie asked. She touched my shoulder and I winced. “Okay, obviously you’re not.”

“No, I’m all right,” I said. I had my good arm wrapped around Hercules. It had gotten colder now that the sun was down, but holding the little black-and-white cat was like having a portable heater. Maggie was already pulling out her cell phone. “What are you doing?” I said.

“Calling Roma.” She shrugged. “I know you won’t go to the emergency room, and since you’re stubborn as a mule, it seems appropriate to get her to take a look at that shoulder.”

I made a face at her, and she gave me a smile as she put the phone to her ear and took a couple of steps away from me. Roma had first aid training, so it wasn’t really that outlandish an idea to call her.

Hercules put a paw gently on my shoulder. “I’m okay,” I said. He narrowed his eyes at me. “I am, really.”

I stroked his fur with one finger. “You were supposed to stay in the truck.” He looked all around as though he had suddenly lost the ability to hear me. I bent down and kissed the top of his furry head. “Thank you,” I whispered.

Maggie closed her phone and walked back to me. “Roma is going to meet us at your house in a little while.” She gestured at Hercules. “How did he end up here?”

“They like to ride in the truck. I didn’t see him jump out when I got out.” She frowned, but I figured it was more believable than “He walked through the closed truck door because that happens to be his superpower.”

Maggie looked over at the tent. “Why did Alex kill Mike?”

“He couldn’t pass the bar exam. Christopher, on the other hand, aced it the first time. They were identical twins. I think eventually they came up with the idea that Christopher would take Alex’s place.”

“And somehow Mike found out.”

I nodded. “It looks that way.” Herc twisted in my arm so he could look over my shoulder.

“And he was blackmailing them.”

“And taking kickbacks from some of the businesses they dealt with.”

“Do you think Mike did have a change of heart?”

“I do. I think Wren’s words got to him.”

Maggie pushed a stray curl off her forehead. She glanced over at the sidewalk. Liam was there, talking to a police officer. She pointed in his direction. “I’m just going to go talk to Liam for a minute, and then I’m going to find Marcus and see if we can leave.”

“Okay,” I said. She headed for the sidewalk, and at the same time Marcus came out of the tent. He stared at me for a long moment and then walked across the grass to me.

“Is your shoulder all right?” he asked.

“I think so,” I said.

“Someone should take a look at it.”

“Maggie’s already taken care of that.”

“Everything that happened at Eric’s wasn’t enough for you?” he said.

I realized then how very angry he was. “I tried to call you,” I said. “I did call you. You were talking to Wren and then Liam.” I stopped and looked away for a moment. “When Maggie said that Alex wanted to do a walk-through of the setup tonight, I figured there was a pretty good chance he was going to plant something to make it look like Georgia had killed Mike. She’s been running and hiding for the past three years, trying to stay away from her ex-in-laws. I was afraid she’d bolt again—or even worse, that they’d find her and start harassing her again. What did you want me to do?”

I’d expected him to say “Nothing,” but instead he just looked at me. “Trust me,” he said.

“I do trust you.”

He looked past me, over my shoulder. I waited, and his eyes came back to my face. “No, you don’t, Kathleen.” He gestured at Hercules. “I almost think you trust those cats more than you trust me.” He held up a finger before I could speak. “Did you think you were the only one who was suspicious of Alex Scott and his brother? I was working a lot of the same information, and in time, I probably would have gotten to the same place. But I have to play by the rules.”

He stared up at the darkening sky for a moment. “The award that Alex got the night of that fund-raising dinner? The only fingerprints that were on it were Christopher’s.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I could barely get the words out, and my heart was pounding in the hollow at the base of my throat.

Marcus looked down at me. “Twice, twice tonight you went rushing in to fix things because you thought I was too incompetent to do my job.”

Suddenly there was a lump in my throat and the burn of unshed tears in my eyes. “I don’t think you’re incompetent,” I whispered. “I just . . . It was complicated.”

His lips were pulled into a tight line. “Just once, Kathleen, just once it would be nice if you had a little faith in me.”

Maggie was on her way back to us. “You can go,” Marcus said. He didn’t look at me, and his voice was as cold as winter ice in the lake. He turned and walked away, and I felt the tears start to slide down my face.

24

Maggie moved her car into her parking spot behind River Arts and drove my truck home. She didn’t ask what had happened between Marcus and me; she just squeezed my hand, pulled a Kleenex out of her pocket and handed it to me.

Owen sat in the middle of the truck’s bench seat, sending me concerned looks every few minutes. Hercules sat on my lap, his head against my chest in sympathy.

Maggie waylaid Roma in the driveway, and she must have told her something had happened with Marcus, because Roma kept her questions solely about my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Kathleen,” she said. “That needs to be seen by a real doctor.” I was too upset to argue.

The two of them drove me to the ER, which was miraculously quiet for a Sunday night. The doctor who examined my shoulder decided I probably had some strained tendons and ligaments. He put my arm in a sling, gave me some painkillers and told me to ice and rest the arm.

“Why don’t I stay with you?” Maggie said when Roma pulled into the driveway.

I forced myself to give her a small smile. “I appreciate that, but if you really want to do something for me, go help Liam let everyone know what’s happened. And would you call Abigail and get her to check on Georgia? Please? That would make me feel better.”

She and Roma exchanged looks.

“I’m all right, really,” I said. “I’m just going to take a couple of these pills and go to bed.”

“Okay,” Maggie said.

“If you need anything, you call me,” Roma warned.

“I will,” I said.

Maggie walked me to the back door and gave me a hug. “He won’t stay mad forever,” she whispered.